Struggling to crack the DC teaser, but seeing Hewitt listed at Number One really is a blast from the past !

It was in June 2003 that he last held the top spot ; since which he has gone on to play for another twelve and a half years (with rather mixed success it must be said) - by the time of his scheduled retirement/farewell at the upcoming AO, that is.

It occurred to me that if Federer were to decide to play on for a similar period after his own last stint at the very top (October 2012), he would be competing on the Tour for another TEN years ! Methinks he is less likely to choose to do that than I am likely to qualify for Wimbledon ......

The timing is that the end of year rankings are out now, whether this Monday/Tuesday or next Monday/Tuesday for the absolute final one I suppose. So the timing of me posting the 2002 end of year rankings when this year's end of year rankings for 2015 are coming out.

So where is the connection between the 2002 end of year rankings and the 2015 end of year rankings, to give another slight clue.

YvonneT wrote:Oh right - first time since 2002 that the top 2 doesn't include either Federer or Nadal. That what you were getting at?

Correct. That is what I was getting at. The last time neither Federer nor Nadal was in the top 2 year end rankings Sampras and Agassi had just played a slam final and half the players in the rankings list were long since retired. That has to be some kind of (obscure) record.

Quite liked the tiebreak formula for the exhibition thing, with mix of current pros and seniors. Better than seeing 2 players half-heartedly trying, to me anyway.

I'm always intrigued by the commercials behind these things though - how can one evening pay so much more than a week long ATP250, especially when I presume there are appearances fees for all? I guess it must attract as much sponsor money as a tourney and only 6 players to pay instead of a whole draw of players.

temporary21 wrote:Just popping in to congratulate Andy for winning spoty a second time in 3 years. As well as gb for team of the year

I can kind of understand Murray winning the overall contest, but the Davis Cup Team winning Team of the Year? One other guy won one match through the whole tournament. What team? The best any the others did was not getting in Murray's way in the doubles. No way they should have won.

temporary21 wrote:Just popping in to congratulate Andy for winning spoty a second time in 3 years. As well as gb for team of the year

I can kind of understand Murray winning the overall contest, but the Davis Cup Team winning Team of the Year? One other guy won one match through the whole tournament. What team? The best any the others did was not getting in Murray's way in the doubles. No way they should have won.

The Davis Cup winning effort was a once in a lifetime achievement though. The last time it was achieved was over 70 years ago. And I take your point about Andy Murray's influence but the doubles players weighed in with crucial points as did James Ward V USA (that match and ultimately the Davis Cup would have quite likely have been lost but for his win). Also there is the great influence of skipper Leon Smith who has made astute selections and formed a solid cup winning team with meagre resources. What other team in the running for the award can boast that?

Williams was a fine commentator and all-round tennis reporter. You could take everything he said at face value - there was never an 'agenda', just an air of calm, professional authority built on a deep knowledge of the game.

I watched Dan Evans in the Dallas challenger on Monday night, and hope to watch his second round match this evening. It's rather one extreme to the other after the Aus Open finals weekend. Anyway Kyle Edmund is there too - must be a battle between those 2 for the Davis Cup second singles slot and I know that Evans is really motivated to play in Birmingham. I don't think James Ward has any current form and Bedene is still ineligible. Will be interesting to see how they get on, but I hope Evans does well enough to get picked (he also already has a win over Nishikori which may be a factor).

YvonneT wrote:I watched Dan Evans in the Dallas challenger on Monday night, and hope to watch his second round match this evening. It's rather one extreme to the other after the Aus Open finals weekend. Anyway Kyle Edmund is there too - must be a battle between those 2 for the Davis Cup second singles slot and I know that Evans is really motivated to play in Birmingham. I don't think James Ward has any current form and Bedene is still ineligible. Will be interesting to see how they get on, but I hope Evans does well enough to get picked (he also already has a win over Nishikori which may be a factor).

I watched Evans yesterday, very impressive victory against Benjamin Becker. Could well be him v Kyle Edmund in the final as both are in opposite semi-finals.

so Evans does make the final, beating Tatsuma Ito in three sets. Didn't see him today, but yesterday against Becker he was very impressive I thought. The sort of win that makes you really frustrated he hasn't done much more in his career: Beckeris a very solid player, and Evans made him look rather ordinary for most of the match. Evans is honestly good enough to have been a fixture in the top 100, with the odd foray into the top 50. The lack of consistency, and at times application, is extremely frustrating.

Edmund plays Smyzcek later on to set up an all-British final. Watched a bit of Edmund yesterday against a rather dreadful opponent, and although he rather muddled through the first set, squandering too many BP chances, he then upped his level and cruised through the second set. He has a very strong FH, solid BH which can create opportunities, and decent tactical awareness. Not good at the net, and I have a sneaky suspicion he doesn't get as much out of his serve as he should...

I really rate Evans too, suspect he could easily break the top 100 on ability, maybe even a bit higher. He has a decent forehand and very effective slice backhand. Also good touch around the net. Hopefully this is the start of him fulfilling his potential.

Should be an interesting match...you can bet both guys will be up for it! If only Evans could apply himself 365 days/yr...he has oodles of talent but I fear there's not much going on between the ears...

Well done both getting to the final, and Kyle in clearly raising his level when it mattered...augurs well for the future and does no harm to his DC singles slot chances. I reckon the win moves Kyle 18 places up to 84th ranking (#84 at just turning 21 is not bad going...only 3-4 younger players ahead of him period...in this current era of older players at all...) and Evans to 158. Keep it up guys!

Everyone has utter disdain for the LTA.An organisation ran by the elite, for the elite, building £40m white elephants in London rather than 40 x £1million indoor tennis centres around the UK.I hope when Murray finishes he/Petchey/Henman/others get together to create a new British tennis organisation that rivals, trumps and eventually obliterates the LTA by doing what makes sense...taking tennis to the people by creating a better local infrastructure, and then supporting a bigger base of talent through Wimbledon profits rather than lining the pockets of London-centric LTA execs.

I was looking for this thread to mention Dan Evans reaching another challenger final, to discover that was practically the last discussion on here. Maybe he needs his own thread He's now at 110 in the live rankings - which might be enough for direct entry at Wimbledon. The title gets him in the top 100.

The match today against Berankis was really good - Dan's forehand is amazing!!

Dan Evans is a strange one. He has in the past admitted to a can't be bothered attitude to training.

Evans, on his own lack of application that has prevented him from progressing further in the sport, in April 2013 wrote:I know why. It's because I don't train hard enough and don't work hard enough day in and day out. I'm obviously pretty bad at my job. It's up to me, it's not up to anyone else. I want to push on. It's not that I don't want to do it, I obviously want to do it. It's just for whatever reasons, distractions – I need to stay there and just play tennis and that's it. It's easier said than done. Thousands of people have told me to do it but I'm yet to do it for a sustained period of time. When I do do it, I obviously play pretty well. I definitely think I will be top 100, and I still think that.

His ranking like his training effort has been like a yo-yo.I wonder if he's finally realised its now or never and has really knuckled down. There's nothing like internal competition either to get the motivation going either! (Edmunds).